Awdough dere was a buiwding boom in de earwy twentief century's arms races, Murmansk's popuwation has been in a swow reversaw since de Cowd War; from 468,039 (1989 Census);[9]336,137 (2002 Census);[10]307,257 (2010 Census);[3] to 299,148 (as at 2014 estimates).[4] It remains by far de wargest city norf of de Arctic Circwe and is a major port on de Arctic Ocean.[11]

Murmansk was de wast city founded in de Russian Empire.[12] In 1915, Worwd War I needs wed to de construction of de raiwroad from Petrozavodsk to an ice-free wocation on de Murman Coast in de Russian Arctic, to which Russia's awwies shipped miwitary suppwies.[2] The terminus became known as de Murman station and soon boasted a port, a navaw base, and an adjacent settwement wif a popuwation dat qwickwy grew in size and soon surpassed de nearby towns of Awexandrovsk and Kowa.[2][13]

On June 29 [O.S. Juwy 12], 1916, Russian Transport MinisterAwexander Trepov petitioned to grant urban status to de raiwway settwement.[2] On Juwy 6 [O.S. Juwy 19], 1916, de petition was approved and de town was named Romanov-on-Murman (Рома́нов-на-Му́рмане, Romanov-na-Murmane), after de imperiaw Russian dynasty of Romanovs.[2] On September 21 [O.S. October 4], 1916, de officiaw ceremony was performed,[2] and de date is now considered de officiaw date of de city's foundation, uh-hah-hah-hah. After de February Revowution of 1917, on Apriw 3 [O.S. Apriw 16], 1917, de town was given its present name.[14]

In 1934, de Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee devewoped a redistricting proposaw, which incwuded a pwan to enwarge de city by merging de surrounding territories in de norf, souf, and west into Murmansk.[14] Whiwe dis pwan was not confirmed by de Leningrad Obwast Executive Committee, in 1935–1937 severaw ruraw wocawities of Kowsky and Powyarny Districts were merged into Murmansk anyway.[14]

According to de Presidium of de Leningrad Obwast Executive Committee resowution of February 26, 1935, de administrative center of Powyarny District was moved from Powyarnoye to Sayda-Guba.[17] However, de provisions of de resowution were not fuwwy impwemented, and due to miwitary construction in Powyarnoye, de administrative center was instead moved to Murmansk in de beginning of 1935.[17] In addition to being de administrative center of Murmansk Okrug, Murmansk continued to serve as de administrative center of Powyarny District untiw September 11, 1938.[14] On February 10, 1938, when de VTsIK adopted a Resowution changing de administrative-territoriaw structure of Murmansk Okrug, de city of Murmansk became a separate administrative division of de okrug, eqwaw in status to dat of de districts.[14] This status was retained when Murmansk Okrug was transformed into Murmansk Obwast on May 28, 1938.[14]

During Worwd War II, Murmansk was a wink to de Western worwd for de Soviet Union wif warge qwantities of goods important to de respective miwitary efforts traded wif de Awwies: primariwy seeing miwitary eqwipment, manufactured goods and raw materiaws brought into de Soviet Union. The suppwies were brought to de city in de Arctic convoys.[18]

German forces in Finnish territory waunched an offensive against de city in 1941 as part of Operation Siwver Fox. Murmansk suffered extensive destruction, de magnitude of which was rivawed onwy by de destruction of Leningrad and Stawingrad.[19][20] However, fierce Soviet resistance and harsh wocaw weader conditions wif de bad terrain prevented de Germans from capturing de city and cutting off de vitaw Karewian raiwway wine and de ice-free harbor.

For de rest of de war, Murmansk served as a transit point for weapons and oder suppwies entering de Soviet Union from oder Awwied nations. This unyiewding, stoic resistance was commemorated at de 40f anniversary of de victory over de Germans in de formaw designation of Murmansk as a Hero City on May 6, 1985.[21] During de Cowd War Murmansk was a center of Soviet submarine and icebreaker activity. After de dissowution of de Soviet Union, de nearby city and navaw base of Severomorsk remains de headqwarters of de Russian Nordern Fweet.

In 1974, a massive 35.5-meter (116 ft) taww statue Awyosha, depicting a Russian Worwd War II sowdier, was instawwed on a 7-meter (23 ft) high foundation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[22] In 1984, de Hotew Arctic, now known as Azimut Hotew Murmansk, opened and became de tawwest buiwding above de Arctic Circwe.

Murmansk features a subarctic cwimate (KöppenDfc), wif wong and cowd winters and short, coow summers. In de city, freezing temperatures are routinewy experienced from October to May. Average temperatures exceed 0 degrees Cewsius onwy from May drough October. The average wow during de cowdest part of de year in Murmansk is approximatewy −14 °C (7 °F). However, temperatures routinewy pwunge bewow −20 °C (−4 °F) during de winter.

Murmansk's brief summer is miwd, wif average highs in Juwy exceeding +17 °C (63 °F). The city is swightwy wetter during de summer dan de winter and receives an annuaw average of just under 500 mm (20 in) of precipitation.

The "midnight sun" is above de horizon from 22 May to 23 Juwy (63 days), and de period wif continuous darkness wasts a bit shorter, powar night from 2 December to 10 January (40 days).

City districts were estabwished in Murmansk for de first time by de Decree of de Presidium of de Supreme Soviet of de Russian SFSR of Apriw 20, 1939; at de time, dree city districts (Kirovsky, Leninsky, and Mikoyanovsky) were created.[14] They were abowished on June 2, 1948.[14] The same city districts were created for de second time on June 23, 1951.[14]

Mikoyanovsky City District was renamed Oktyabrsky on October 30, 1957, but on September 30, 1958, aww dree city districts were again abowished.[14] On June 10, 1967, two city districts were created (Leninsky and Oktyabrsky); Pervomaysky City District was spwit from Oktyabrsky on February 21, 1975.[14] In de Charter of de Hero City of Murmansk, adopted on December 17, 1995, de districts started to be referred to as administrative okrugs.

The popuwation of de city, according to de 2010 Census, was 307,257, down from 468,039 recorded in de 1989 Census. Ednic Russians make up de majority of de popuwation, but Ukrainian and Bewarusian minorities awso wive in de city.

Murmansk has two main (and severaw smaww) museums: Murmansk Obwast Museum and Murmansk Obwast Art Museum. There are dree professionaw deaters, wibraries, and an aqwarium in Murmansk.
Murmansk is de venue of de decommissioned Lenin (1957 icebreaker) which is now a museum ship.
Awyosha Monument, Murmansk or Defenders of de Soviet Arctic during de Great Patriotic War monument is awso wocated in Murmansk. The main sqware of Murmansk is Five Corners, Murmansk.

To commemorate de 85f anniversary of de city's foundation, de snow-white church of de Savior-on-de-Waters was modewed after de White Monuments of Vwadimir and Suzdaw and buiwt on de shore for de saiwors of Murmansk.[32]

Murmansk is set to be de Russian terminus of de Arctic Bridge, a sea route winking it to de Canadian port of Churchiww, Manitoba. Even dough de passage has not been fuwwy tested for commerciaw shipping yet, Russian interest in dis project (awong wif de Nordwest Passage) is substantiaw, as de bridge wiww serve as a major trade route between Norf America, Europe and Asia.[34]

Murmansk is home to Murmansk State Technicaw University, de Murmansk Arctic State University (formerwy Murmansk State Pedagogicaw University), de Murmansk Institute of Humanities and de Murmansk Cowwege of Arts[35] (de onwy Art Schoow of de Kowa Peninsuwa, formerwy de 'Murmansk Music Schoow'). The city has 86 primary schoows and 56 secondary schoows, two boarding schoows, and dree reform schoows.